Shadowpuppet
by vacant houses
Summary: A series of short stories and ficlets. Power transitions are rarely peaceful and normally bloody. Raph strikes a dark bargain to keep his family safe as he learns to deal with an unexpected gift. Companion to Virus and Stranded.
1. Shadowpuppet

TMNT aren't mine.

Continuing the idea of strange chi powers from Virus. After the turtles help Karai take control of the Foot, it's like, bam, all the dissenting Foot have vanished and they all mindlessly obey her orders all the episodes onwards. I imagine the actual power ascension wasn't very smooth and very bloody. Seppuku...meh, though it's a samurai thing, it'll conveniently apply to ninjas in this case as well

* * *

><p>"Mistress Karai," the ninja bowed respectively to her, no trace of the fear he had to be feeling as he delivered his report, "The shipment last night was disrupted by the-"<p>

"Turtles," she interrupted coldly. To the man's credit, he did not flinch, merely fell silent and awaited his punishment. "I take it then, the business last night was a complete failure?"

"Yes Mistress Karai," there was nothing in his voice, a true ninja then, one whose loyalty to the clan was steadfast and unwavering, who would accept her judgement without a word of protest.

She could not afford to lose a man like this.

Her fists tightened, barely, almost unnoticeable. So many operations that he had been overseeing lately had failed, disrupted by the turtles. This was simply his last failure too many, a disappointment from a man she once had high hopes for.

A man who she would have to lose as a lesson to the clan.

She did not have to look around to realize every ninja in this room waited with bated breath. Waited to see if she was strong enough to lead them, strong enough to claim her position as the Shredder's successor.

There were too many dissenting voices in the clan, they'd spoken quietly at first, so quiet she never would have noticed.

The slightest hint of movement on her left, Hayato Katashi, her second in command. If it weren't for him, she never would have noticed how much of her authority had been undermined before it was too late.

Katashi has very quietly taken care of the voices, as she could not act without splitting the clan apart. Some of them suffered fatal accidents, some disappeared, never to be heard of again, others had been arrested on charges that the clan's lawyers were yet to wriggle out.

But why was he here? Her second in command had been granted a large amount of leeway and very rarely did he involve himself in disciplinary matters.

"There is only one punishment for failure," Karai spoke calmly. "In the name of the Foot clan, you are to commit seppuku to regain your lost honour."

The ninja bowed and accepted her judgement wordlessly. With a wave of her hand, the ninjas gathered around were dismissed; two of the Elite followed the disgraced ninja to ensure that his honour was properly restored.

The room emptied until she was alone.

With Hayato Katashi.

Without a word, they retreated into her inner chambers, where they were certain they could not be overheard.

She approached a window, gazed contemplatively over the city for a while. "Why did you do that?" she asked at last.

"Do what?" Katashi's voice was a low rumble.

"He was a loyal ninja. I trained him myself; one of the best the clan has to offer."

Her second in command remained silent. "The agreement between us was for you to help secure my place. Not undermine it by killing off one of the few men who still firmly follow me."

A snort, had Katashi been any other member of the clan, he'd have been executed for his impudence.

"I do believe you're the one who passed judgement there, Karai," there was no trace of respect in the ninja's voice and the leader of the Foot clan fought to keep from gnashing her teeth in frustration.

She turned and levelled an ice glare at him till he shrugged reluctantly. "Fine, I did set him up, screwing up all those missions. But for your information, he was the head of the dissidents. Congratulations, you are now dissenter-free, leader of the Foot clan at last."

Karai pursed her lips tightly, unable to look at his smirking face. "I see," she said. "Very well, you have my thanks."

It was an impressive effort that she didn't choke or stumble on her words, though they burned like acid as they passed her lips. She wanted to add, "You're dismissed," but she knew that was over-pushing the boundaries of their arrangement.

Hayato Katashi, the true ruler of the Foot Clan laughed outright at her, smug bastard as he was. "That doesn't look like gratitude," he taunted.

He abruptly was up on his feet, ready to leave without a further word. "Wait," she said, determined to find the answer to a question she'd been harbouring since this insanity had started. "I don't understand."

"What's there to understand?" his voice was cold now, their business had been concluded and she was overstepping her place.

"Why didn't you just kill me?" she asked, unable to hide her bitterness. "Take my place as you took Hayato Katashi's place. Rule the Foot clan directly, instead of through a puppet."

She remembered when he'd approached her, they had fought, fierce, furiously, she'd battled him with the intent to kill, sought his death with all her skill. And how numb she felt when he stopped holding back and broke through her defense with ease and held steel to her throat. Her life was forfeit that moment forth, but he'd refused to collect, instead he'd sent her back in disgrace, a pawn he could crush at a moment's notice.

He laughed at her then. He laughed at her words now. The bastard laughed at her. "As if I'd want to spend the rest of my existence playing you, Karai."

And then he was gone, she was alone in her chambers, clutching at the shattered illusions of her place as leader of the Foot clan.

* * *

><p>Hayato Katashi walked calmly into a dark alleyway, the sort the Purple Dragons had once liked to frequent, until a small group of mutants had made them too dangerous for criminals of any kind.<p>

He stepped into the shadow, allowing darkness to cloak his body, vanishing like any ninja of his calibre was capable of.

A ripple went through his shape; it twisted and bent until the illusion faded into another form entirely.

The incredible stupid question Karai had asked flashed through his mind.

Chuckling darkly, Raphael Hamato slid open the nearby manhole and vanished into the sewer.

He'd murdered men and women to see the truce maintained between the clans. He'd bought peace with their blood.

But even he had limits to what he'd do for his family.

* * *

><p>...hence explains the reason Raph dreams of himself as the Shredder in NT episode "Darkness Within."<p> 


	2. Sun

TMNT aren't mine.

Huh, so I lied about it being a one-shot. I decided I wanted to play a bit with Shadowpuppet's universe, maybe one day I'll turn it into a multi-fic with a complete story and everything but for now, I'll just write short stories for it. While this one is all nice and cheerful, there's a good chance that the rest won't be. This ficlet would be set very early in the Shadowpuppet storyline.

* * *

><p>If Leo knew what he was up to right now, he'd be dead several times over.<p>

Raph yawned and rolled over the grass, relishing the golden warmth of the sunlight on his limbs. It wasn't often that they got to enjoy the sun; trips to Casey's farm were few and sporadic and part of him felt guilty that he was indulging himself without his brothers.

But damn, this felt good. Soaking up the heat was sending warm fuzzy feelings to his reptilian brain and he was in a surprisingly good mood that not even the presence of so many humans had driven his paranoia crazy.

An eye cracked open and he watched the many people milling around Central Park, enjoying the warm sunny day. Voices flowed, a constant background chatter of friendly conversations, casual banter, not a single person screaming in horror at the sight of a lone mutant turtle basking on the grass.

This was truly was freedom.

His fingers curled slightly, it had taken months to gather the nerve to carry out this particular venture. Months of watching the park, running small test trials of wandering into small crowds on the dark streets of New York at night, _meditating_ daily, studying objects, studying humans, paying attention the smallest of details, taking art lessons from Mikey of all turtles, all to fine tune the small gift he'd discovered.

The rewards were worth it. So long as he kept away from places with security cameras, he was free to blend with humanity in any way he wished.

He hadn't known what to do with his new found freedom. Even just this, his first step in exercising this independence was cautious and meticulously planned, he'd never been more careful in his life, ready to head back into the shadows at the slightest hint of danger. But as time passed and no one had reacted to him, success had emboldened him to the point he was actually enjoying himself out in sun.

Raph inhaled deeply, the scent of grass mixed with greasy food and cigarettes was intoxicating. If freedom had a smell, he decided it had to have grass as a key component. Just being out here, out in the open, not hiding in the shadows or the bushes or the trees, but out on the grass, able to lie and bask, feel the soft earth beneath his feet, soaking up the heat, the experience was liberating.

It wasn't anything complicated; it had absolutely nothing to do with humanity accepting them like they sometimes wished. It wasn't being able to go wherever he wanted, do whatever he wanted without fear of the repercussions or Leo's nagging mother-hen complex.

Freedom was the ability to lie in the sun.


	3. Delirium

TMNT aren't mine.

This is probably very early on in the Shadowpuppet timeline. Constructive criticism always appreciated

* * *

><p>It never occurred to him to use it during spars against his brothers, not even when Leo had managed to push him into his deepest rages. In fact, he never even considered using it in fighting at all.<p>

What happened was a complete and total accident.

One second, Leo's about to strike and he brings his sais up to defend himself, and for a split second, he can taste the brief tang of energy that his gift has always brought him, then Leo flinches and goes wide at the last second, he pivots round and hacks away at the air behind him.

But Raph's sais didn't stop, they sink straight into his brother's forearm, mangling Leo's flesh. Leo didn't cry out, they're too well trained for that, but Raph's numb fingers release his weapons immediately and he stares wide eyed at the damage.

"Raph? You okay there?" his brother calmly puts away his own blades, not at all bothered by the pain, "Mikey, can you grab the first aid kit while Don has a look at this?"

It isn't the first time they've hurt each other sparring, hell; he's probably done worse _intentionally_. But something about the scene makes him feel sick to his stomach, there's a cold lump of ice growing steadily inside him as each of his nerves scream to him that something is wrong.

"Jeez Leo, getting a bit distracted?" Mike teases as Don bandages the wound, luckily the sais hadn't hit any main blood vessels and it's nothing time won't fix.

Leo laughed easily. "Yeah, I guess," he admitted. "For some weird reason, I could have sworn Raph was behind me and I…just reacted."

Mikey snorted, "Raph stayed right in front of you the whole time, he couldn't pull off fancy fast moves even if he wanted, the slowpoke."

Ordinarily he would have responded to Mikey's ribbing with a hearted snarl, but he can't shake the unease pooling in his guts. "Raph," Leo said, noticing the red turtle's mind is miles away. "I'm fine. You barely hurt me."

Raph shook his head, trying to sort out the spinning in his head, the heavy feeling that he's screwed up yet again. "Yeah…I know," he answered quietly.

His brothers exchanged confused glances, alerted to his internal turmoil by his unusually subdued reply. "Um Raph, it really is just a few minor cuts," Don said.

"Is everything alright my sons?" drawn by the relative quiet as opposed to the usual noise of friendly spars, Master Splinter entered the dojo.

_He was losing control again. _The thought, insidious and terrifying, crept inside his mind. And it really was that simple; that once again, his damn impulsive nature was rearing its fucking ugly head again. And he had tried so hard, learning how to project false realities onto other people was no easy feat but he had done it by himself and for once things had actually been working.

Now, this shit was coming up, he knew that it wasn't just a glitch, a one off-let's-screw-around-with-Leo's-brain thing, because life was never that easy and life absolutely hated it when Raph actually tried to achieve something. There had been no warning, his gift had popped up, unwanted and unnoticed and sent Leo off on a completely different tangent. There was absolutely no fucking reason for it to have happened but it had.

That meant that he was both a liability and danger to his brothers if his gift couldn't even recognise his allies.

"We're fine Sensei," Leo said, giving a small embarrassed shrug at his bandaged arm. "I got a little distracted and Raph nicked me in the arm."

The old rat's eyes fell upon his most passionate son, "Raphael?" he prods gently, recognising that his child is strangely distressed over a matter so very, very minor in their household.

Raph's tongue feels heavy and it sticks to his mouth when he tries to speak, "'m sorry Sensei," he murmurs, as he feels himself spin out of control.

"For what my child?" Master Splinter carefully approaches the turtle, placing a comforting hand on Raphael's shoulder.

His mouth is full of the tangy taste of energy, he chokes and gags on it and he can feel his gift gathering up regardless of his desperate attempts to dissipate the power. It isn't his to control anymore, as he tries to grasp it, exert any measure of restraint, it formlessly ripples away from him.

It explodes outwards, overwhelms his family, flooding their brains with images and sounds of things that aren't real. His numb eyes swivel up to observe their frozen forms for a brief moment before the energy turns inwards and pulls him into false dreams and nightmares.


	4. Genesis And Fallout

TMNT aren't mine.

I'm feeling generous today, two drabbles and an update to Pet-shop Turtles. Constructive criticism always appreciated

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><p>He still remembers the first time it happened.<p>

They were out on patrol and had run into the Foot. During the battle, they'd separated, scattered across various alleyways and rooftops. One of the Foot ninjas got lucky and a blade wound up inside his leg.

After dispatching the rest of them, Raph dragged himself further into the alleyway and into the shadows, before sending a text message to the rest of his brothers. As rash and impulsive as he was, there was no point in endangering both himself and his brothers by trying to jump back into the fight.

Except, his brothers delayed by their own separate battles, it was the Foot which found him instead. A team of ninjas slid into the alley, a few stopping to check on their fallen comrades while the rest scoured the backstreet for him.

Now, had it been the Purple Dragons, Raph was fairly confident he'd never been found. But the Foot had training; they knew what to look for. As one of them approached his hiding spot, he found himself pressing desperately against the grimy wall.

_Come on; please don't let this fucker see me._

The ninja went still as he stared directly at the turtle. There was no way the human hadn't see him and yet the ninja didn't say a word. As Raph prepared himself to charge out, the ninja wandered away.

Raph gaped dumbly at the retreating ninja, certain that this was a trick to catch him off-guard. And yet as the other Foot swept the alley, each completely ignored the section of the wall he was propped against.

When his brothers finally arrived to collect him, he'd fallen into an uncharacteristic thoughtful silence.

* * *

><p>Don sat on the dojo floor, eyes shut in meditation.<p>

Raph paused hesitantly at the door, then gathered his resolve and forced his way across the room. He sank down in front of his brother and tapped Don's knee to return him to reality.

Don's eyes opened and they narrowed at the sight of Raph before adopting the vacant look Don wore lately whenever Raph came anywhere near him.

For a brief moment, Raph scowled before burying his irritation, things had changed because of him and he needed to fix them. They sat for several minutes in silence and it became increasingly clear that Don wasn't going to say anything. "I'm sorry," Raph muttered at last.

Don tilted his head with blank curiosity. "For what?"

Raph's fingers tightened into fists as he sought to explain himself. "I don't know what I made you see," he said, "But I swear, I didn't mean for it to happen."

His brother's beak tightened into a mirthless, empty grin. "I know you didn't," Don said, "You never intend for these things to happen. But they do. And sometimes...you can't fix it with just a couple of words."

Despite himself, Raph snorted, "Like I don't know that," he muttered bitterly as memories of fights between him and his brothers flash through his brain and then his most recent offence came to mind.

Don slowly reached out and placed a finger on Raph's shoulder. "Give me…time," he said eventually. "And maybe one day…I'll trust you again."

It wasn't a promise.


	5. Sight

TMNT aren't mine.

I should be studying. *Shrugs* Meh. As I mentioned earlier, there is no straight continuity here.

Mikey is a rare and elusive character in my writings but it's not because I hate him. It's because he is SUCH A DAMN HARD CHARACTER TO WRITE. Oh, surely you jest VH, you say. He's the lovable goofball, youngest in the family, so simple. To which VH replies, creating a likeable, well balanced Mikey is hard work. He's funny, he's lighthearted but he is not the innocent, blue-eyed baby of the bunch that needs his brothers to protect him because he's mysteriously sheltered from the world despite undergoing everything his brothers have faced or secretly a depressed wangsty emo bitch. My apologies for that rant and if that's the version of Mikey that you like, but seriously, review your canon if that's what you think Mikey is.

ps, Disneydelinquent has a delightful story dealing with wangsty Mikey, which DeeMG and I are trying to get her to put up. So keep your eyes out for it in case she eventually posts it.

Anyways, I hope my version of the Lord of Planet Michelangelo is suffice. If you were wondering why I haven't written a story with Mikey having a chi power, I guess that answers the question. I actually started writing Undercurrent after I wrote the original chapter of Shadowpuppet and I'm still working on it now.

Constructive criticism always appreciated.

* * *

><p>Leo watched his wayward brother finally slip into the lair. "You were out late," he observed casually, making sure to keep his tone even.<p>

Raph shrugged dismissively, a dark, dangerous look in his eyes. "I needed some air," he replied flatly.

Leo burned with the desire to demand where exactly his brother had been vanishing to but he knew better than to use that tactic, it would only serve to drive Raph away. Instead he climbed to his feet and headed to his room.

"By the way," he called out, pausing by his door, "You've got to work harder with your tricks if you want to fool me. I can see the blood on your sais, you know. I going to hope that whoever that person was, he deserved it. Like a serial killer, a psychopath or something. But since there hasn't been anything like that in the news, I don't have very high hopes."

Silence was his only answer but he wasn't expecting a response.

* * *

><p>"I saw monsters."<p>

Mikey hovered nervously in Raph's doorway; his brother was a crumpled heap on his hammock that didn't even stir at the sound of his voice. The orange banded turtle glanced behind him, great, no family watching, he slipped inside and shut the door behind him. He treaded over to Raph's hammock and fearlessly poked Raph's bald head.

"Mrrmff," Raph growled lowly and his head lolled away from Mikey's finger.

"Oh shut up," Mikey settled carefully against the hammock, "ANYWAY," he continued in a louder voice, "I saw monsters."

Raph didn't respond, he was so still that Mikey actually doubted he'd said the words out loud for half a second, then he remembered Raph was still frolicking along the beaches of angst, torment and stupidity and was being a drama queen.

Stupid Raph.

Stupid Don.

"They were pretty…horrible," he continued, "Scary stuff. Hollywood had nothing on them. I was terrified, I just kept running and I couldn't escape. I mean, we've done some crazy things and I was never as scared as I was when I was stuck in those dreams."

Mikey glanced over at his brother, Raph was still as stiff as a corpse and he sighed and poked his brother's head again. "The Mike is talking, please pay attention. So, after some time, it suddenly occurred to me it couldn't possibly be real."

This perked Raph's attention, his head tilted up at Mikey, "Huh?" he frowned in confusion.

Mikey shot him a brilliant grin, "Yes, your stupid ability is nothing compared to the pure awesomeness of the Battle-Nexus Champion."

"How'd you figure it out?"

The Battle Nexus Champion shot to his feet and struck a dramatic pose, chest puffed out, hands planted firmly at his waist. "Well, it's really simple. I consist of nothing but epic win, and I didn't deserve to be chased by horrible creatures that spawned apparently out of your incredibly messed up brain."

Raph stared blankly at him. "That's it? Seriously?"

"Yep," Mikey slapped him on the shoulder, "Come on bro, let's go play some Xbox so I can demonstrate just how much win I'm made of."

Raph was halfway to his feet, when he glanced up with the question, "And what about Don?"

Mikey paused for a moment, "Don…relies on his eyes too much," he answered at last. "And I guess he needs to learn now...that not everything can be explained with science."


	6. Perception

TMNT aren't mine.

I feel like pimping out a couple of stories today...

Firstly, check out the Terrapin Tarts' Round Robins on the TT website, three of the stories there were updated today. I was very lucky and got the opportunity to guest author on two couple of them with DeeMg and Winnychan, so have a guess at which parts we did. In upcoming fics, Disneydelinquent has a delightful story dealing with wangsty Mikey, which DeeMG and I are trying to get her to put up. So keep your eyes open for it in case she eventually posts it. It's a 'serious crack fic' which is absolutely brilliant and handles that annoying stereotype of emo!Mike very well.

...for those of you who've read Virus, you'll find the first ficlet highly ironic.

Constructive criticism always appreciated.

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><p>"What is it that plagues you Donatello?" Master Splinter poured out two cups of tea and carefully handed one to his smartest son. "Raphael never intended to hurt you, surely you know this."<p>

Donatello's eyes narrowed at the mention of his brother but he settled for merely sipping the tea in silence. "He has come to me and I will teach him to control this gift. Hopefully there will not be a repeat of this incident."

"You approve of this then;" Don said abruptly, "That Raph can control people's minds."

Splinter paused and pursed his lips thoughtfully. "My approval does not change Raphael's gift. As we've just learnt, Raphael needs to be taught how to use it properly, lest we fall victim to it. And it is not mind control Donatello. Raphael projects a false reality to the mind and senses. It can be overcome and ignored with the correct training and strength of will."

"The average person doesn't have the training to overcome this," Don persisted, hands tightening on his cup, "Sensei, Raph could be a serious danger to the surface world. Do you really think he hasn't been up there, messing with people's heads?"

"Donatello!" Master Splinter snapped, aghast by the implication of the question, "Do you really have such little faith in your brother's honour?"

There's a hard look in the scientist's eye. "Oh, I have no objections about his honour. It's his self-control and impulsiveness coupled with this ability I don't trust. What if he's up topside in a bad mood to burn off some steam and ends up sending a person out in front of a speeding car by accident?"

"Donatello," Splinter reached out and placed one paw on his son's tense hand, "This is not what you are truly concerned about. What did Raphael's gift show you?"

* * *

><p>"Fool," her face twisted into a sneer at the turtle that had invaded her private chambers. "Your transgression here will be paid with your life."<p>

Raphael tilted his head, a dark smirk wreathing his beak. "You don't even want to hear why I'm here? Or even how I got here, past all your precious security?"

The creature didn't even display the slightest sign of tension; the rest of his miserable family must be somewhere, carrying out whatever foul plot that had brought them into her headquarters. Her hands snapped to her pager-except it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" the turtle carelessly spun the device between his thick fingers.

Impossible. She refused to let her surprise show, the turtle had not advanced anywhere near her to grab the pager. "Impressive," she ground out, watching him carefully, something was going on here, something that she'd missed.

Raphael bowed mockingly, "I thought you might like it, it never fails to amuse small children."

* * *

><p>Leo watched his brothers play on the beach and knew that they weren't real.<p>

A soft smile still graced his face anyway as he basked in the peacefulness of the scene. Mikey and Raph splashed through the waves as Don constructed the most extravagant sand castle he'd ever seen.

The sun on his skin is false but he indulged in it regardless. The air has the fresh tang of salt and water and he wondered how Raph had managed to project such convincing detail when neither of them has been to the sea and he decided it didn't matter.

He closed his eyes and leaned backwards against a palm tree. For a moment, he's content to let the dream play on; lie to himself that life is beautiful and good.

Then, he sank into a meditation exercise and dispelled the illusion.


	7. One Man Island

TMNT aren't mine.

DisneyDelinquent finally posted "The Threat From Beyond The Fourth Wall," which I highly recommend. And the Round Robins on TT was updated, check the stories out there and try to guess which parts Winnychan, KameTerra, DeeMG and I did.

...I don't know where this came from...but that is essentially Shadowpuppet, it's a concept that I'm playing about with, no set plot, just a couple of random ideas. I don't...like OCs. They are ever so rarely used properly. This guy here is probably never going to appear again...unless I feel like exploring this particular short story more.

Constructive criticism always appreciated.

* * *

><p>"Holy-"<p>

Scott Rogers watched in open astonishment as the scrawny little _hobo _took down the three Purple Dragons who'd run him down this alleyway. The guy literally came out of nowhere, one second a pile of trash, and then next this guy was laying the smack down on the goons. And these guys were tough, mountains of muscles and all that shit.

And this guy? He was nothing, a non-distinct stick of a person, features hidden by thick shaggy hair and loose baggy clothes. But he was damn quick; he ducked beneath the Purple Dragons's swings and dealt viscous, _bone breaking _strikes with unerring precision.

The goons went down- fast. "Holy shit," Scott said, blinking dumbly at the guy. "The hell did you do that?"

The tramp glanced up at him and Scott couldn't suppress a shiver at the pure wilderness in those vibrant amber eyes (_Do people normally have eyes that fiery? The guy had to be wearing contacts, right?_). They fixed on him and he suddenly felt that he was better of letting the Purple Dragons beat the crap out of him or crawling under a rock somewhere and _never _coming back out. This guy, this guy was- that strange pressure vanished as the hobo's eyes swept past him to the open street and an smug eyebrow arched at him as if to say _well, why haven't you gotten going?_

It belatedly occurred to him that this stranger had just saved him from a potentially nasty beat down. "Um, thanks," he said as he took a step towards safety and away from whatever crazy world this guy had step out from. "I-yeah. What you just did- that was damn incredible. And I'm insanely grateful that you did that. Um. Should-should we call an ambulance?" his voice rose in pitch as he realised that _none_ of the goons were moving, "They-they're still alive, right?"

The hobo snorted and casually kicked the nearest one in the ribs- hard. The unfortunate man let out a weak groan as he feebly attempted to curl up.

"Oh, that's...good right? I'm…gonna call an ambulance…and the police. Hey!" the guy had started to wander away from Scott, down into the darkness of the alleyway. "The Dragons, they don't let people do stuff like this unpunished, you've gotta come with me to the police or the Dragons will hunt you down and kill you."

Possessed by a sudden worry for his rescuer, Scott hurried after the guy, lunging forward to grab his wrist and….do what? This guy was certainly capable of kicking his ass and leaving him here if he wanted. And-the tramp swung round- _holy shit he is looking at me!_

Scott's spine crawled with fear as he stared into those _eyes_; they burned with an inhuman intensity, a primal predator gaze searching instinctively for weakness. His muscles suddenly locked up as every inch of his being ineffectively screamed to get the hell away from this guy.

Then-the tramp glanced down and Scott's eyes were drawn after his gaze and for a split second, he could have sworn that –_there was a flash of green skin, three fingers, the feeling of dry, rough scales-_ he blinked dumbly at his hands on the guy's arm. Slowly he glanced at the guy's face, he wore such a strange expression as he stared at Scott's hands-no, Scott's hands on his skin and even though he was so dangerously still, Scott knew that there was some sort of internal battle being waged beneath his surface.

For a long moment, Scott didn't dare to breath, there was something else going on here, something that he wasn't privy to. Then whatever it was broke, the tramp glanced up and-for a split second their eyes met and Scott caught a raw glimpse of exposed- _a childlike wonderment at the simple sensation of a human's hand-the first time a strange person had ever reached out - overwhelming loneliness and bitterness, humans weren't afraid to touch other humans-_ the amber eyes flashed as he turned away from Scott, yanking his arm from Scott's grasp.

The human was still reeling, both physically and mentally as the-whatever the hell _that_ was- took a step away from him. As Scott tried to make sense of what he'd just witnessed, he wasn't even surprised that it slowly began to melt away; the shadows on the ground crept upwards and swallowed its form. He caught a brief glimpse of a dark ripple in the darkness; it slithered to the alley wall, then snaked up and onto the rooftops and vanished.

And then it was gone.

And Scott Rogers shivered as he realized that the world was a much larger place than he'd ever believed; that there were some things living beyond human understanding and they had the loneliest existence out there.


	8. Solitary

TMNT aren't mine.

Constructive criticism always appreciated.

* * *

><p>The sound of the heavy drips of water was all that he could hear as he hurried down the sewer tunnels. He didn't dare stop, his movements were driven by an all-consuming panic that he was going to be too late…<p>

Somehow his ears picked up the near indiscernible sound of flesh scraping against concrete and he drew to a halt just before a T-junction. He listened carefully, the sound did not come again but he knew that he'd found what he was looking for.

Slowly, he approached the wall and leant against it, his instincts warned him if he turned the corner then his brother would be lost for good. "I…had a dream," he called out slowly. "Well, it wasn't a dream. It actually was a bunch of illusions brought on by _someone's_ mystical energies."

His poor attempt at humour fell flat, he could sense that his brother was moving further away and the time to bring him back was diminishing. "I dreamt…that you were all leaving me. We were all walking together and then suddenly I couldn't keep up with you guys."

He paused as the images rose up in him again and he shivered as he realised just how close he was to-no, he would change this. "I tried calling you guys back," he went on quietly. "But it was like you couldn't hear me. You just kept on walking and despite all my efforts I couldn't catch up. Eventually it was like I wasn't even moving, I was just watching you all leave and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it."

"Splinter…brought us back. But it feels like I'm still stuck in the nightmare, forced to watch you walk away. And…I went through it once already. Please,' he whispered, "Don't make me live through it again."

His words hung in the air for several heartbeats. There was no answer. As the silence stretched, he became vaguely aware of the faint tang of energy and suddenly he was certain that his brother had never been there, that all along he'd been talking to an empty tunnel and his chance to bring his brother home had slipped through his fingers.

The nightmare loomed in on him, forced him to the floor with a distressed moan. This couldn't possibly be happening again. And this time it was real, he wasn't going to wake up to the reassurance that his brother was still there because he'd failed. Failed to bring him back just like what had happened when he'd been trapped in the illusion.

His breathing came faster as his control crumbled and an anguished keening escaped from his throat. All his fault. All his freaking fault-

A hand closed on his shoulder and he glanced up to-

"Raphael?"

Donatello stood hesitantly before him, a pained look on his face. Raph blinked in confusion as he tried to sort out what was going on, Don hadn't been here, he was certain of it, Don had…left.

"Bu-but I thought you were-"

"I was always here," Donatello settled careful against the wall, not close to Raph but not far either. "I never left."

Raphael drank up the sight of his brother sitting there, even though his head was still spinning as he tried to sort out the two sets of contradictory information. Don was most definitely here. Don had always been here. But his brain had been so damn certain that no one had been there.

"It happened again," Donatello said quietly. His body was tense, like he desperately wanted to leave but was forcing himself to stay. "Except it didn't affect me," Don's beak curled into what would have been a smirk once upon a time but the recent gap between them didn't allow for such familiar expressions.

"Stupid Raph, what's the point of being able to mess up people's heads if half the time it's going to take you down with it?"


	9. Dark Solitary

TMNT aren't mine.

The previous chapter was kind of obscure and not very clear, so I going to clarify a couple of things. Raph was also dragged down into an illusion when his powers messed up in Delirium. He was the turtle talking about his illusion in Solitary and he was talking to Don when his powers screwed up again and convinced him he was all alone.

So, I figured I'll finally deal with Don's malfunction. This chapter is in challenge to StillThunder who is currently screwing around with Raph's brain in Colourblind. This is my first move.

Constructive criticism always appreciated.

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><p>Donatello shifted slightly as he rested his carapace against the wall and let out a little sigh. Raph still was watching him like he was about to vanish, a valid worry, Don supposed, in light of the knowledge that Raph had been equally screwed over by his stupid ability to project illusions.<p>

Admittedly, Donatello himself hadn't done much to allay Raph's fears. He'd kept his distance from his brother, terrified Raph's presence will send him back…_there._ And all this time, Raph had been wondering if he was going to just to get up and leave. Which…was kind of shitty. Given how intense his own illusion had been, Don was surprised that Raph hadn't just settled for dragging him back to the lair and locking him in.

Things hadn't been right since that day Raph's powers had gone out of control. Part of Don was wretchedly out of place and no matter how much he rationalized it, he just couldn't fix it. Couldn't stop viewing Raph as the enemy and a threat. And that…wasn't right, Raph didn't choose to have this ability and he certainly didn't choose to mess up Don's brain like he had.

Perhaps then, the first step to bringing things back to normal was action.

"I was…thinking of leaving," he began hesitantly. As Raph straightened and his face was flooded with raw distress, Don knew that they weren't getting through this if he wasn't going to give the truth. "I was going to leave," he amended quietly. "Not now, not today. I couldn't stand to stay down here, so the thought of leaving became fixated in my mind. Something to look forward, something to get me through the days."

"Because of me?" Raph tilted his head, eyes downcast, body tense as a wound up spring.

The urge to lie held Don's tongue only for a second. "Because of you," Don answered honestly. "And not because of you. Your presence is only half the reason."

Donatello shifted again as he gazed blankly at the ceiling as his memories rose. "I dreamt…of darkness," he said, at last voicing the nightmares that had plagued him since that far off day in the dojo. "I didn't have eyes. I couldn't see. I didn't have a tongue. No nose, no ears, no skin. I couldn't feel anything."

He glanced carefully at his brother; Raphael's body had tightened even further, if such a thing was possible, since Donatello had started his confession.

"I was nothing more than a…brain," he said with a bitter laugh. "I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't hear," unintentionally, his voice rose, "Trapped helplessly in the darkness, aware that it couldn't possibly be real but forced to live through it anyway."

Raphael swallowed nervously and Don paused to give his brother a chance to speak. "Splinter got us out of there in less than an hour," Raphael muttered, "But you…were in there for longer, weren't you?"

Don gave a brittle smile, "I was stuck in there for a millennia," he answered coldly. "All alone in the dark with nothing but my thoughts for company. And after a while Raph, I was sick of them. My sanity didn't last; it came and left because I couldn't handle it. I went over everything I knew, every memory I had and it wasn't enough. And damn did it become easy to hate you. Not just you, Master Splinter, Mikey, Leo, everyone else that I knew. Being left alone like that inside my brain, I hated everything. I started to wonder how hard it would be to genetically engineer a virus to wipe out all forms of life and in the darkness, eventually I figured out a way. Which is why I haven't been in my lab because I'm terrified that if I step in there, I won't be able to stop myself from using that knowledge."

"Holy shit Don-"

"It was so dark in there Raph," Donatello whispered, "Dark and empty and I couldn't hear, couldn't scream. I was blind and I was helpless. Time is a perception and the thirty or so minutes you spent stuck inside your brain couldn't compare to the hundreds and thousands of years I was stuck in the darkness."

Something inside him eased slightly, with his bitter confession along went the poison that had festered for so long. Don took a deep breath then finally looked up into Raph's troubled eyes, meeting them properly for the first time in weeks.

"I know that you didn't mean it but every time you take a step near me, it's like the shadows are shifting in the corner of my eye and they're reaching out to pull me in. We live in shadows, Raph, and now I can't stand to spend a second longer down in here in the darkness. That's where I was going; I just needed to get out to see the sun."

Raph slowly, carefully, inched himself closer to Don, a thousand inadequate words dying on his tongue, the foremost being that it was night time and there was no sun to see, the second being _holy shit, I have completely fucked you over Don and I am so freaking sorry, I don't even have words and I can't even tell you that I am sorry because that would be like spitting on your face._

His brother for once did not flinch away, as per what had become his standard over the last couple of weeks. Gently, Raphael placed a hand on Don's shoulder as he sifted through his memories, until at last he came to a golden day spent in the forbidden sun. The faint tang of energy fizzed on his tongue as he pushed the memory out, into his brother.

There wasn't much he could do; he could not take away a millennia of shadowed dreams.

But at the very least, he could give Don a day in the light.


	10. Viral

TMNT aren't mine.

The Terrapin Tart's roleplay and Round Robin has been updated so check it out.

Constructive criticism always appreciated.

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><p>It took every inch of control to contain the smirk that was threatening to spill onto her lips as Katashi stepped into her chambers. The man-no- the turtle paused for a moment at the sight of the Elite ninja there but he shrugged it off, he'd grown secure in the power Karai had allowed him to exercise.<p>

Fool. This game had begun when he was barely out of childhood, he'd been young and naïve when he'd struck their bargain. And even though he was far older and dangerous now and far less likely to fall to subterfuge and trickery, their association had been built on a falsehood. All she had to do was fall in line and allow things to unfold and he'd remained blind to the deception being played right beneath his nose.

She could see him now, beneath the form of her deceased second in command the insolent reptile stood, calm and assured in his abilities.

"You needed to see me?" the lazy drawl in Raphael's voice never failed to set her teeth on edge, "And in the company of your honour guard no less. I'm so _honoured._"

One of the Elite twitched at the turtle's lack of respect and Karai held her breath, inwardly cursing the ninja as he came close to undoing years of work. But Raphael remained oblivious, confident that his powers kept his words for her ears alone, carelessly drawing close to her.

"Indeed I did," Karai nodded to the empty seat opposite her but Raphael instead settled casually on her desk. The urge to scowl at him was controlled by the knowledge that it was over at last, in a couple of minutes she'll have brought this turtle down. "I recently received news from the head branch in Japan-"

"Oh yeah, Japan," Raphael cut in, a thoughtful tone to his voice, "I've been meaning to talk to you about Japan."

For a second Karai's curiosity flared and she almost, _almost_ asked the turtle what he wanted to do with the head branch but she squashed the impulse as she signalled slightly with her fingers.

The Elites snapped their blades up impossibly fast towards the turtle's neck and-

Stopped.

Karai gaped at her men for only a second, then she was on the attack, thrusting her tanto at Raphael's chest only for her body to seize up and freeze.

She couldn't move, no, impossible- they'd been so careful! They'd analysed Raphael's abilities carefully, spent years developing meditation techniques to counteract his illusions-

Raphael was not doing this.

Her body refused to obey her commands, she stared helplessly as the turtle casually reached out and plucked her blade from her hands. This was no illusion; there was no tang of energy on her tongue that accompanied Raphael's abilities.

Then what-

"About Japan," Raphael continued as though there had been no break in the conversation and the five humans in the room were not frozen statues, "I'm thinking we could start the next phase of the plan."

Plan? What plan? And how was he doing this? How had they misjudged him so badly?

"What this? You look a bit confused there Karai," Raph said mockingly as he climbed to his feet. He tilted his head at her to match eye levels. "Oh fine, I'll explain. The thing about illusions is that they make nice distractions…provided the other person doesn't know about them," the turtle abruptly smirked at her. "So, I figured, you guys will eventually stop falling for them and start learning how to see past them. I made myself nice and obvious and you kept all your attention on me. And all this time, Don's been free to take over each and every one of your ninjas."

Donatello. Why hadn't they considered that the other turtles may have developed other abilities? Coldness began to seep through her as the full extent of her helplessness dawned. This, this, what had he done?

"Don's got some pretty sick powers," Raph said cheerfully, "He has complete control over you Karai and it's only because he's letting you that you're going to remember this conversation. The best part is all he requires to take control of another person is skin contact. You touch another person and they're his to command."

"So about the head branch in Japan…"

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><p>I felt like tossing Virus!Don and Shadowpuppet!Raph together for some power mixing up. Um yeah, take that StillThunder. Don's taken control of the Foot Clan!<p> 


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